Mexican Independence Day

Subtopic: Mexican Independence Day

Grade Level: 3rd-5th

Author: Marla Hueller

Background:

Mexico is the fourth largest country in the Western Hemisphere and
is located south of the United States. It is one fifth of the size of
the United States, about 460,000 square miles. The land has a variety
of features consisting of mountains, desert, rain forest, and
beaches. The mountains are filled with minerals and natural resources
that help Mexico, but they are also a problem for the people of
Mexico because they make it difficult to travel. The capital of
Mexico is Mexico City. The country has a republican government
similar to that of the United States.

Mexico doesn't have the usual four seasons. There are only two
seasons, the dry season that lasts from October to April and the
rainy season that lasts from May to September. In the summer, the
highs are usually around the low eighties and evenings are cool. The
winter gets up to the low seventies and the nighttime low are around
fifty. May is usually the warmest month because it is between the two
seasons.

The people of Mexico are a blend of Indian and Spanish. The people
don't identify themselves as Indian or Spanish though. They consider
themselves a mixture of the two. They are working towards having a
successful integration of race and culture. The official language in
Mexico is Spanish and the major religion is Catholic.

History is very important in Mexico. To the Mexican people, "It is
not only the story of how the present came to be, but the explanation
of present realities and future possibilities." ( Burke 39) Towards
the end of the eighteenth century, the middle and upper class began
to question how the traditional society was based. They wanted
freedom of speech, a representative government, and restrictions on
the power of the Catholic Church. The people thought that the only
way to get this reformed society would be to gain independence from
Spain. At this point in Mexican history education was centered around
theology and philosophy. The people felt that Mexico needed practical
skills, engineers, and economists. They needed to reject the values
of Spain and replace them with more progressive values of the world.
This has led to problems for Mexico ever since. The question they
have to ask themselves is, do we stick to our traditions and values
or reject the past?

In the early nineteenth century the Mexicans were discussing how
to revolt against Spain. This thought of revolting was influenced by
America and France. There were several groups starting to rally the
people for this cause. A leader of one of these groups was a priest
named Father Miguel Hidalgo. Hidalgo lived in Dolores, Mexico.
Hidalgo and his officers were planning a revolt for late fall of
1810. There were things that they needed to do to prepare the people
for the revolt. They needed to make swords, bullets, and train the
Indians how to fight. The Spanish people found out about the revolt
and the Spanish government ordered the arrest of Hidalgo and his
officers. When Hidalgo heard about this he called a meeting at his
church. He rang the church bell on the night of September 15, 1810 to
call his congregation to the church for a mass. When all the people
arrived Father Hidaglo rallied the people to fight. He gave the
speech that is now called Grito de Delores. He said "Viva Mexico" and
"Viva la independencia!" These famous words he said have been
remembered and are said each year at the Independence Day
celebrations.

All the people fought together, Criollos (wealthy Mexicans of
Spanish blood), Mesizos (children born of a marriage of a Spaniard
and an Indian), and Indians. The people used clubs, knives, stone
slings, and ancient guns. The people marched to Mexico City and along
the way they fought. A battle took place in Guanajuato between the
Spanish soldiers and Hidalgo's followers. The army sacked the town
and killed the Spaniards. They continued to fight on their way to the
capital. When they finally reached the capital, the army hesitated
before going in to fight. When they hesitated some of the people
deserted the army. Before the year was over Father Hidalgo was
captured and executed. Other people continued to fight for the cause
and Father Hidalgo's Grito de Delores (Cry of Delores) became the
battle cry of the Mexican War of Independence. The people fought for
eleven years before they finally won their freedom.

Today Mexican Independence Day is a major celebration in Mexico,
bigger than Cinco de Mayo. The people of Mexico celebrate with a
fiesta. A fiesta is a party or festival. Fiestas are held for many
different reasons that vary from honoring a person, to events in
Mexico's history. Fiestas can be simple or elaborate and can last
from one day, up to a week or more. There are many things that can
happen during a fiesta, some of these things are colorful parades,
music, dancing, eating spicy food, drinking strong drinks,
bullfights, rodeos, and fireworks. Vendors come and set up booths to
sell toys, souvenirs, food and drinks.

The celebrating begins on September 15 (the eve of Independence
Day) by having crowds of people gather in the zocalos (town meeting
place) of cities, towns, and villages. In Mexico City a huge square
is decorated with flags, flowers and lights of red, white, and green.
People sell confetti, whistles, horns, paper-machete helmets, and
toys in the colors of red, white and green. The people also eat lots
of food.

The people watch the time and when the clock strikes eleven
o'clock the crowd gets silent. On the last strike of eleven the
president of Mexico steps out on the palace balcony, and rings the
historic liberty bell that Father Hidalgo rang to call the people.
Then the president gives the Grito de Delores. He shouts "Viva
Mexico" "Viva la independencia" and the crowd echos back. People do
this at the same time all across Mexico. While the crowd says this
they fill the air with confetti, streamers and noise. Castillos
explode in showers of red, white, and green. Then people go home and
sleep for the next days' celebration.

The actual day of September 16 is similar to July Fourth in the
Untied States. There are rodeos, parades, bullfights and horseback
rider performances. The people feast and recall Hidalgo's speeches.
There are statues in memory of Father Hidalgo and people decorate
them with flowers that are red, white, and green.

The Mexican Flag is made of three main colors; green, white, and
red. These colors all symbolize something and have an important part
in the celebrations. The green is on the left side of the flag and
symbolizes independence. White is the color in the middle of the flag
and symbolizes religion. The red is on the right side of the flag and
symbolizes union. These colors are used often in decorating for the
Mexican Independence Day fiesta.

Objectives:

* Students will realize that countries have celebrations unique to
them.

* Students will demonstrate their understanding of the concept of
tradition.

* Students will identify a family tradition that is important to
each of them.

* Students will demonstrate their understanding of the concept of
independence.

Time Allotment: Approximately 4 to 5 class
periods

Resources Needed:

* map of Mexico

* construction paper for flags and decorations

* ingredients for recipes and cooking supplies

* member of the community to teach a dance

Procedures:

A. Brainstorm. Tell the students a
story of a tradition that you have been a part of during your life.
Give lots of details so that they can picture what it was like. Ask
students to identify a few traditions that they are familiar with.
Write the ideas on the board.

B. Mini-Lecture. Explain that
different countries have holidays with which we may be unfamiliar. In
Mexico, holidays are called festivals or fiestas. Tell what a fiesta
is and some ways they are celebrated. Show the students where Mexico
is on the map. Briefly describe the country. An example of a fiesta
in Mexico is Mexican Independence Day. Explain to the students that
just as the United States has reasons from history as to why we
celebrate our independence, so does Mexico. Put the name of the
holiday and the date on the board.

C. Think -Pair-Share. Have each child
think of reasons why a country would want to have independence or
freedom from another country. (e.g., religious freedom, different
governing, values). Have the students pair up and share their ideas
with their teammate. Invite some students to share more broadly with
the whole class.

D. Mini-Lecture. Explain to the
students the history of Mexico's revolt against Spain. Tell the
events that led up to the war and how the war was started. Explain
who Father Miguel Hidalgo isand what he did to start the revolt. Tell
what happened after Father Hidalgo died and that the war went on for
eleven years before Mexico finally gained its freedom. Check for
understanding with review questions and review material as needed.
Ask students to plan a skit to reenact the night that Father Hidalgo
called the people to the church. Have the class perform the skit for
the teacher.

E. Concept Development. Review
information regarding fiestas. Explain the events that take place in
Mexico on the Eve of Mexican Independence Day and on Mexican
Independence Day. Define the concept of tradition (an event or thing
that is carried out or acted upon each year at the same time). Ask
the students what they do every year the same way. Give examples of
traditions, Christmas activities, Thanksgiving, Easter, Birthdays,
Anniversaries. Share a story of a personal tradition. Have the
students write a story of a tradition that they have. Choose several
students to share their story with the class.

F. Hands-on. The colors of the
Mexican Flag each symbolize something to the Mexican people. The
green symbolizes independence, white symbolizes religion, and red
symbolizes union. Talk about how things are decorated in these colors
for the fiesta, for example: flags, flowers, lights, confetti, noise
makers. Have the students make one of these items as if it were for a
decoration for a town square on Mexican Independence Day. Display the
items made as decorations in the classroom. Remind the students what
each color symbolizes.

G. Fiesta. Have a Mexican
Independence Day celebration in the classroom. Have the students make
Mexican hot chocolate and bring Polvorones for them to eat. They can
wear green, red, and white. Have a member of the community come into
the classroom and teach the students a Mexican dance. Have a bell and
at eleven o'clock shout the Grito de Delores and have the students
echo it back.

H. Open Discussion. After all the
previous activities have been completed ask the students to respond
to the following question. "What do you know about Mexican
Independence Day?" Each students will add at least one thing that
they learned to the discussion.